SuperDad

I was reading this book the other day. The Way of the Superior Man is an interesting book written by David Deida.

I think if you read the title of the book you don't really need to think too much about what the book is about.

One of the chapters I read was about a man's purpose and his relationship with his family. The chapter got me thinking about men's lives all around the world and especially in this country, Japan.

Comedians in this country joke that the typical Japanese family hierarchy is the following:

We can take this for the joke that it is and it is quite funny because it always seems that poor old dad takes the brunt of everyone's frivolity but if we look into it a bit more thoroughly we tend to see that it is quite sad to say the least.

Why is this?

Well, it is because poor old dad has lost his sense of purpose. He goes to work in the morning to provide for his family. There is nothing wrong with that. It is very noble but Deida says that it doesn't set his soul on fire. He might be providing for his family and bringing home the bacon so to speak but he isn't doing anything for himself as a man. Because of this the children and his wife will sense this and they will sense the weakness and start attacking him verbally.

This guy treks off to work on a crowded train everyday for one hour each way. He joins the line of people snaking their way to the office to sit in front of a computer all day, have endless meetings, deal with a boss who is so out of touch with the idiosyncrasies of life in 2017 and to also deal with customers who want a five minute soft boiled egg delivered in three minutes. No wonder he is miserable. Then he goes home to find that no one respects him. His wife checked out years ago and the children think he stinks.

Yet if poor old Dad was to find his purpose, to find what he was put on this earth to do, to find his calling, he would miraculously find himself much more happier. His wife would find a difference in the way he carries himself and the children would want to be around him more and more.

What does all of this mean?

If indeed your purpose is to start some kind of business then just quitting your job and diving into the business in the deep end is probably a fool's move but the fact that you are working on your purpose in your down time is enough to show the other people in your family, who is 'the man.'

I know that it is easier said than done, but to find that thing that you want to get out of bed in the morning for. That thing that sets your soul on fire. That thing that sees you sitting at your desk at 10pm on a Saturday night because you are so involved in it, you are so focused on it. If you can find that, man oh man, you can become unstoppable.

You go from this:

To this:

Unlike Superman, no kryptonite will stop you. You will be faster than a speeding bullet. You will be more powerful than a locomotive. You will be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.

Up, Up, and away